Fabric is formed from fibrous raw material on a loom. As the fabric is formed it is moved by take-up mechanisms over guiding surfaces and, eventually, caused to be wound on a take-up roll positioned on a cloth take-up stand. When a desired amount of fabric has accumulated on the roll, the roll is removed from the cloth take-up stand and taken to a quality control or grading station. The cloth, of course, is ultimately removed from the roll and the roll is returned to the loom to be reused.
Conventional take-up rolls are made of wood, either as a solid or hollow cylinder having (end) caps (usually metal) fitted in the ends thereof and machined for positioning on the cloth take-up stand. A safety problem is inherent in the use of wooden take-up rolls, however, inasmuch as the rolls splinter with age and use, posing serious safety problems to those workers who handle them on a regular basis. Further, wooden rolls are generally relatively heavy and their life-span is not always as long as might otherwise be desired. Thus, a mandrel which improved on these prior art drawbacks, and which was additionally inexpensive and easily fabricated, would be useful to the textile industry.